Baltimore-area Amtrak ridership grew 50% in last 15 years

Amtrak ridership in Greater Baltimore has increased nearly 50 percent in the last 15 years, a report released Friday showed, ranking the region seventh for growth among Amtrak’s 10 busiest metropolitan areas.

The report, released by the Brookings Institution, is dubbed “A New Alignment: Strengthening America’s Commitment to Passenger Rail.”

Baltimore-area ridership grew from 1.2 million in 1997 to 1.8 million in 2012, the Washington, D.C.,-based think tank reported. In total, Baltimore riders accounted for 2.8 percent of the rail company’s total ridership share in 2012.

Overall, more than 54.9 million passengers used Amtrak in 2012, a 58 percent increase over the 34.7 million passengers who used the service in 1997.

The Boston region ranked first for growth in the last 15 years at 211 percent.

The congested Northeast Corridor — running from Boston to Washington, D.C. — was responsible for more than 45 percent of Amtrak’s total passengers in 2012.

The Baltimore area has three Amtrak Stations: Penn Station, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Aberdeen. The Northeast Regional route, which Baltimore is apart of, posted revenue of $505 million in 2012.